Oh My Love
by BabyPearlie
Summary: This is a story of an OC who falls in love three times. My epic little adventure...
1. Chapter 1

~Hey :D I'm a new writer, so forgive my mistakes and point them out to me so I can get better, Thanks! Also, This story starts out with my OC Hatake Reiko who is taking place of the two-tails bijuu. If you are the type of person who gets ticked off when people screw up the original story then DON'T READ MY FANFIC. I completely change the story because I have added a new character.

Also, I know I change perspective within the first two paragraphs, but that's how I wanted it :] Is it weird?

Standing on the rail of a very old and cruddy fence, was a young girl. Looking into the rising sun, becoming slightly blinded by its light, '_What is to become of me? Living here alone. Seeing nobody; and if I did, I'd get scolded.'_

_'I guess I'll go to the grocery store this morning.. I'm low on eggs.'_ I sighed and built up my nerve to go out and face the world… To get some eggs. '_Why me?'_

With my white, waist length long hair, blowing in the wind, I let my eyelids drop covering my jet black eyes. Never ending loneliness clenched at my heart. I opened my eyes and began walking down the bronze dirt road that so many people dread to ever come across.

Town is a simple place, not one you'd want to go out of your way to come and visit for vacation, but not one to avoid for any particular reason. There are few people I can actually talk to and retreat without an injury. It's been like this ever since I was born. Always getting avoided, rocks thrown at, insulted; always **hated.**

After fifteen minutes of walking down the dirt filled trail, I begin to see the city growing closer. It had been a pleasant day so far, the rain came yesterday so the air was as fresh as it could be with high humidity. It's what we get for living high up with the clouds. It rains every other days and misty air all the other days. Today was a mist day.

"Good morning," I smiled lightly at the store manager as I walked in the nearest general store. I was on pretty good terms with the manager and was never truly abuse by him at any point in time.

".. Morning," He replied with a fake smile. Well, at least he did make the effort to smile, unlike most who have no problem showing their disgust with me. It was just a known fact that I needed to be remineded constantly who I was and _what_ I was.

I discovered where the eggs were on isle three and grabbed two cartons. At the front desk, I dug out a small coin pouch with Japanese cherry blossoms I embroidered one boring afternoon. The threads didn't match or 'work' together, but you work with what you have some times. "Here," I handed him the money that was a little too much. He didn't return my change. '_Fine, like I _care_. It's just fifty cents. I got plenty of money in the fund that my family left me.'_

I walked out of the store with my groceries in a little paper sack, that he so graciously gave me instead of the new plastic sacks people use now days The good thing about paper sacks, is they can work as a weed stopper in flower beds. You simply place it on the soil and cover with mulch, thus preventing the weeds to break through the surface. I consider today's paper sack a blessing. I came to a stop as something caught my attention, '_Whoa that smells so good! Hot pork buns?' _It was clearly pork buns; nothing could have such a sweaty hot and sweet taste fill the air and brings smiles to peoples' faces when you walk by.

The pork bun shop was across the street from the grocery store, and it was lunch time. I sat myself down at a two person stall and waited for a waiter to take my order. Looking across the restaurant, I saw the waitress notice me and role her eyes. She walked over with her hands on her hips, glaring, "What'll it be this time?" She sighed. She was a very beautiful girl; she should wipe away the look of disgust on her face.

"One pork bun please," I smiled to lighten the mood and studied her face to see if there was any hope of her smiling too.

"Fine, whatever," She stomped off with no smile. '_Oh well.. I tried. Again.' _I sulked for a moment before exploring the room with my eyes. There were a few couples and families here and there. Some had taken notice of me and tried shielding their family with their bodies so I wouldn't even get to look at their children. They were so clueless. Some were oblivious to me existence here today and were enjoying their visit with a friend for a meal.

Five minutes later, she returned with my pork bun, steaming away on a forest green china plate. It looked so good! '_I bet it's as good as it looks too.'_ I smiled as she set the plate down, "Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah, just finish up and get out of here so our customers won't get frightened or anything. You're hurting our business." She retreated quickly.

"Kay." I dug in with my teeth and discovered flavors one could only wish to explore. Nearly five bites and I was finished. The waitress returned with the bill and set it on my table. '_Wait… what? What the?' _I stared at my bill for a good thirty seconds in disbelief. "Um.. Excuse me, why does it say twenty dollars?"

"Oh yeah, the family in the corner said you'd be paying for their lunch. So I just added it to your bill. Pay up already! I have other customers waiting for service, and we don't need someone like **_you_** in our restaurant!" She slammed her hand on the table, making everything shake.

"Okay!" I pulled out my coin pouch and scrounged for enough money to pay it all. I didn't have it. '_Ah! Why does today have to be the day that I don't have enough money? She will probably yell.'_

"I'm so sorry! I-I don't have twenty dollars with me." I bowed hard and fast several times to express my deepest apologies.

"Eh?! What was that, you monster?!" She reached for a knife from the table place setting next to us and pierced my hand with a stab that now connected my hand to the wood table underneath.

I screeched and flinched at the instant pain in my left hand. I tried to hold in the tears but I failed. As expected, all my feelings and emotions swelled up inside of me. '_Why me?! Why do I get hurt?! It's not my fault!' _My thoughts and cries left my head_, "_It's not my fault! It's not! Why am I always being treated as though I'm worth nothing more than dirt?! I'M SICK OF THIS!" I screamed at her and grabbed the knife that conjoined me with the table and pulled it out only to throw it at the floor. With my right hand I grabbed the table and threw it at the waitress; collapsing on the floor with tears of angst and hate and loneliness. '_Do I really deserve all of this?_'

"Look at what you've done! You monster! What a mess this is!" She screamed back at me but also with a insecure sound to her voice because she.. Was scared of me. She backed away with widened eyes, pointing her finger at me, cowering. I had begun to glow. _No! Not this! Not now! _I bolted for the door and ran away. '_Anywhere… Anywhere but here. I need to get away from this place; from everything.'_

I must have run for thirty minutes before I collapsed on the floor in some forest. '_Ugh I'm still glowing.. I lost it again, huh? I wonder what will happen to me now. Why am I alive anyways? Maybe I should just die, and erase my existence from this world. Would that make someone happy?' _"Ah..!" I started to sob, eventually sobbing myself to sleep next to a tree.

"Is she ok?"

"She looks like she's been here a while.."

"How many days do you think?"

".. Maybe two? She looks famished." 'Wh_at? I hear.. Voices.'_

"There's a village about twenty or so minutes that way; I bet she's from there.''

"I can take her there; it's not totally out of my way."

"You sure? This isn't a part of our mission."

"I know. But I can't just leave her here to rot. I'm not that heartless."

_'W-Who's that? These voices. Why can't I see anything? I want to see who it is.'_ I finally found the strength to open my eyes, "O-Oh!" I yelped. '_Who is this man? And why the HECK is he carrying me?_'

"You're awake," He said staring at me once he had stopped moving. This gave me the chance to get a good look at him whose face was inches from mine. He had long slick black hair that was sticking to his face in several places from the moisture in the air. His eyes were as dark as his hair with the most handsome features. He lacked emotion, which made his handsome features less noticeable.

"Put me down!'' I demanded and he did so without comment. "What do you want with me?"

He stared blankly at me, "You were passed out in the middle of the forest. I assume you're from this city?''

_'This city?' _I looked around and found myself at the city gates. I turned to look at him again, '_Ah! He's a ninja! I'll be on my guard. I don't want to get killed. Or maybe.. It's better that I do get killed.'_ "U-Um.." I started to say as he continued staring at me with his piercing onyx eyes. "W-Would you like to stay for dinner? To express my thanks." '_I can try. Maybe he will say yes._'

"No thanks." Was all he said and as he turned around to leave I heard a manly growl from his stomach. I giggled and blushed, he didn't turn around so I had no clue what his expression was. "Um.. Maybe a little something." I could tell in his voice that he didn't feel comfortable coming for dinner. The point was, he didn't know who I was, which mean he wasn't scared of me. Yet.

After a while of walking, we came across my yellow ragged cottage; it had paint peeling down the side like it had been through tough times. There wasn't much to be proud of, but it was still my home and a place a refuge. Once inside, I quickly scrounged what ingredients I could to make ramen. I served in my only two bowels with my only two pairs of chopsticks and cups for green tea. '_He looks uncomfortable but he's not scared of me. It's probably good he doesn't know my secret.'_ "Is the ramen to your liking?" I tried stirring up a conversation, feeling awfully awkward myself.

"It's good." '_He's kind of boring.. But I guess that's ok.' _Again, I studied his features as he took bites of his soup, his dark lashes looked longer now that he was looking down at his meal; and even though he was eating, there was a little 'crow's feet' on the sides of his eyes which I could clearly make out that his eyes were smiling. I wondered if it was the food he was so happy about.

_"_What did you say your name was?" I asked, even though we both knew he hadn't said his name yet.

"Uchiha Itachi."

"I'm Hatake Reiko. It's nice to meet you," I smiled.

"Hn."

"Where are you from? If you don't mind me asking."

"Konoha." He paused to stare at me, "Did you say your last name was Hatake?"

"Yes..?" '_Does he know something?_

He stood up and reached for his things on the floor, "I must leave and return to my mission." He started to exit. '_Crap! He knows!'_

I grabbed his vest, "Wait!" He turned slightly so he could see me. "Let me do something for you! Wait here, I'll make you some food for your return journey." I let go of his shirt and didn't wait for his reply as I ran off into the kitchen. I was determined to make him stay a little longer.

"I don't need any."

"Please! You're my only friend, I want to do something!" I begged him. '_Why do I care if he stays? I should just let him go, it's probably better if he didn't get to know the real me anyway.' _I could feel his dark eyes on me as I stared at the floor, tears sliding down my face. He just stood there watching me cry. '_What am I doing? I look like an idiot.'_

He finally said, "I'll come back."

"W-What?" I looked back at him my eyes still draining salt water down my face.

"I'll come back," He repeated. "It won't be for a while though; the Lightning Country is a week away from where I live." '_H-He'll come back?'_

"T-Thank you!" Was all I could manage to say.

"Bye."

And with that he was gone. '_He'll be back..' _I fell on the floor and paused for a moment long enough for all of this to sink in. '_He'll come back! I made a friend. I'm so happy!' _I began sobbing curled up in a ball on the floor. '_I'm so… So happy.'_

One month had gone by, and I was wondering if I really would be seeing him again. '_Did he really mean that he'd come back? Or maybe he just said that to shut me up.'_ Knocking at the door woke me up from my deep thoughts; bringing me back to reality. '_Wait what? Knocking? People have never come to visit me before. It's him! I know it is.'_ I ran over to the door and opened it. It was him! "You're back!" I leapt forward and hugged him. He didn't hug back, but just stood there uncomfortable; I didn't care though. "You're back! You're back!" '_Just like he said he would be.'_

I looked up at him with a smile that reached from ear to ear, "I didn't plan on coming back.. I only said that to shut you up." He averted his eyes for a moment, "But I felt bad about lying, so I.. came back." I couldn't stop smiling or looking at him. He was so gorgeous. Long black hair, onyx eyes that spoke of nothing but mystery. He broke the silence and said, "But I'm on another mission, so I can't stay long."

"I don't care." He turned his head to match my gaze, "You came here for me, I'm so happy!"

"Uh.. I came here because I felt bad for lying to you, and I was already on a mission anyway for this area of the Lightning Country," He looked away again, grabbed my shoulders and detached me from hugging him. He then looked about the room observing the old cottage. "Do you live alone?" He finally said.

"Yes."

"Where is your family?"

"Dead I think." I said while staring at the floor. "I had a mother, a father, and a step brother." '_I hate talking about them.'_

"What happened?" He pried.

"I killed my mother after I was born, my father abandoned me, took my step brother, and went away to another country to try and forget about me."

"What was your step brother's name?"

"My nanny told me Kakashi," His eyes widened. "He has white hair like me because we share the same father who also had white hair."

"You look just like him." He spoke with a smile tugging at his lips.

"What?! You know my brother, Kakashi?" '_My brother.. My nii-san.' _"How is he? How old is he? What has he been doing? Has he forgotten about me?" I blurted out questions like a crazy child. My mind even felt foggy from the excitement. I would have never expected such astonishing news.

"He's fine I guess." '_Ugh come on, say more than that..'_

"Good." I smiled thoughtfully, "I hope to see him one day." I wondered off into my future hopes and dreams. While Itachi stood there and just watched me, he never stopped looking at me..

"Oh!" I startled him as I ran over to the kitchen and grabbed all kinds of ingredients, "I should make you some food for your return journey" I said smiling because I knew he would leave soon. '_Dangos and rice balls sound decent_.'

"Um.. You don't have too." Even though he said that, I could tell by his voice that he wanted it. "How old are you?" '_Oh yeah I haven't told him that yet.'_

"Thirteen."

"Hn," '_Oh gosh.. What will he think about hanging with a thirteen year old.. I wish I was older.'_ "You look older," I turned around to look at him with disbelief and then felt my face heat up. He chuckled and I immediately turned around to finish my cooking.

"Here," I smiled and handed him a small basket with my finished rice balls, dangos, and green tea in a bamboo container. He slowly walked up without breaking eye contact with me and slowly reach out to grab the basket from my hands.. Still.. Without braking eye contact. _'What is he thinking? He's so weird.'_

"Thank you." He turned around and headed for the door to take his leave. I stood, leaning against the counter of my kitchen watching him leave. I knew it was time for him to go but I didn't know what I could do to make him stay longer.

"W-Wai-" I began,

"I'll be back" Was all he said as he shut the door. I don't know why, but I started to cry. I missed him already. '_Why am I like this?' _Again, I curled up on the floor and began weeping. '_He'll be back.'_

Three months had passed and I was starting to give up. '_He's not coming.._ _I should have run after him._.' "I'll go into town and get some salt for tonight's dinner." I got my shoes on and headed for the old trusty general store.

It was a short visit. It was time to sulk again as I had been yelled at by the towns people again and it was always depressing. Approaching my house, I saw my door wide open. Someone had been there. '_Oh. It's probably some punks from town going to vandalize my home. I'll grab a kunai and beat them to crap I guess.'_ I went inside and started looking around for any traces of vandalism or people. Then I noticed a package and small bento box on the kitchen table. The one I gave Itachi. _'Is he..? He's back!' _"Itachi?" He walked around the corner from my bedroom.

"Oh.. There you are." His deep voice echoed in my ears and my heart.

"Itachi!" I ran forward and threw my arms around his neck to hug him as tightly as I could.

"Good evening." He places his hands around my waist to return the hug without being to intimate.

"Itachi. I missed you so much!" I couldn't let go. Not ever. I tightened the hug and he returned it by placing his hands softly on my back.

He chuckled, "Yeah." I inhaled his smell, trying to fuse it to my memory. "I'm on another mission."

"Oh?" I looked up at him. He was so tall.. The top of my head didn't even clear the level of his shoulders. "Oh.. But can you can stay longer?" I asked with hope beaming on my face with a blush.

"Mhm." He said, and if you looked hard enough, you could see a smile trying to appear. "I have something for you." He reached over to the table and handed me a little package wrapped in tissue paper. He handed it to me, watching and waiting for my expression to pop when I opened it. When I unraveled it, I placed the tissue paper on the counter next to me. It was a dress! It was a white summer dress with a blue satin sash around the waist._ 'It's so beautiful..' _

He snorted when he saw my face light up as if I had never seen a dress before, it was so gorgeous. "Itachi.." I paused and held it against myself, "I don't deserve this. Something this wonderful."

He looked at me as though my skin just turned blue or something. "Why?"

'_I can definitely tell he thinks I'm crazy.'_ "W-Well," I was going to have to tell him sooner or later. "I have a secret," I began, "There's something inside of me. It's called a Bijuu. I'm sure you've heard of them before.." I looked up to see his eyes widen and then quickly looked down to the floor and I couldn'tbare to see his surprised and judging face even though I lived around that all my life. I didn't want to see _his _unhappy expressions. "I didn't want to have to tell you, but I know I needed to."

"You're a Jinchuriki?" He finally spoke after a long silence.

"Yes. I'm the two tails," I glanced up at him and then back to the floor, emotions building up inside of me, "No one cared for me except my nanny who ran away after a while. I'm avoided when I go to town; punished, and cursed by others. I'm not wanted by anyone, you probably think that too." He stepped forward as though I'd insulted him.

"I don't think that wa-"

I cut him off, "No one loves me! That's why I'm alone. My father and brother left me because of what I did to my mother after I was born." Tears kept leaking from my eyes. He stepped forward to hug me again, showing he cared. I was surprised that he accepted me so easily. A normal reaction would be to run away, or avoid me. '_There again.. Itachi isn't like others, so I guess he really does care._'


	2. Chapter 2

~I feel so weird writing a beginning like this. Itachi isn't a big part of my story; rather he's the motivation for my character who will eventually find true love later. Also, the whole thing I write about " I _like_ You," is just separating the experience she has now compared to later when she'll get to say "I _love_ you". I wanted the difference since right now doesn't really count. It's jus'puppy love. :]

We stayed like that for a long time. Me sobbing, him hugging. For the first time in my life I felt cared for. I felt… loved. My crying eventually stopped, and I pulled away. My eyes were now a bit swollen._ 'I bet I look horrible.'_ I walked over to the counter and found a towel to wipe my face.

"Reiko.." He said as he walked over to me. I froze and blushed as it was the very first time he had said my name, "Humans.. Kings, queens, ninjas, villagers, you, and me are equal in worth. You aren't any more or less important than anybody else. The people of this town don't understand that. The 'you' they see and the 'you' I see are different." He tried to comfort me through my tears, "Don't ever let their words of harm get to you. Don't think on it or let it affect you. It is just the lonely thoughts of this broken world we live in." He stood behind me and placed his hands on my waist. "Also.. Having a Bijuu inside of you doesn't change my opinion of you." He placed his cheek on my head, "I like you."

'_W-What?'_ "You.. L-Like me?" I had to remind myself to breath, I had forgotten since I was in an adrenalin shock.

"Very much"_ '.. Very much.'_

"I-Itachi.." I turn to face him, my swollen black eyes to his black onyx. He removed his hands from my waist, cupped my face, and leaned in to bring our foreheads together. We stayed like that for a moment; an inch between our lips. Never braking contact with each other's' eyes, and.. I couldn't. Even if I tried.

Feeling his breath on my lips, he slowly began to kiss me. I had never kissed before. '_This is.. Wonderful. This is.. Love.'_ I threw my arms around his neck and began to press into the kiss even more. Pouring all of my emotions into one kiss. '_I love him. I love him! I want him for my own. I don't care if selfishness over takes me. I want all of him.'_

Morning came. I woke up to feel Itachi breathing beside me. I took the opportunity to run my pale fingers over his perfectly sculpted biceps, waking him up.

He ran his fingers gently through my hair, "Good morning."

"Good morning," I answered back as I rolled over next to him. I sat up and I looked over at him, observing how he peered into my eyes with such feeling. As if.. He really did love me, so I believed him, "What would you like for breakfast?"

"I don't care. I'm not really hungry." He mumbled. I giggled at his anti-morning-person reply. Sliding to the edge of the futon, off I went to the kitchen.

Preparing a good breakfast of some kind would be difficult since I had little food in the first place. '_Hmm.. what does Itachi like?'_ I entered the kitchen and didn't see him. I peeked outside and saw him throwing kunai at a tree outside my cottage. He saw me and waved, I skipped over to him and pecked his cheeks, hugging him with all my might, "I like you."

"I like you too." He returned; and with that I ran inside to start fixing breakfast.

During breakfast, he told me he had to go back to Konoha and his family. He also told me he had a younger brother, nine years old. He stood up and said it was time for him to leave. Sadness appeared evident on my face, "Sorry.." He said as he watched me sulk

"I-I'll make you a return-journey-lunch!" I hopped up and hurried to the counter. He laughed at my perkiness. I quickly threw some rice balls together and placed them in the little bento box I had given him earlier.

He walked over and placed his hands on my hips just like last night. After hugging me a little, he took the bento box from my hand, walked over to the door, and turned around for a last glance, "I'll be back."

I smiled and said, "I'll be waiting."

Five months went by, and no visits from Itachi. He was all I could really think about. Life was so boring without him. He had a family and a country to serve. He can't spend all his time with me, but… '_Maybe the next time he visits, he'll take me with him to come live with him in Konoha!' _The ideas made me want to jump and start cooking something.

Later that day, coming home from the grocery store, I ran into an old man. He looked like a traveler, of sorts with a walking stick and long ancient beard dangling in front of him, "Excuse me, miss," He said with an aged voice that croaked of lung cancer.

"Yes?" I stopped in my tracks and listened for a moment. Mainly, I was shocked he dare even speak with me, '_what's his problem?'_

"The relationship between you and a young man named Itachi has been passed throughout the village, did you know? He was seen at your house many times."

"..Um" I began, totally shocked of the words that came out of his mouth.

"Well anyways, they say that he will be cursed if he stays with you much longer. That you should distance yourself from him if you truly love him." _'What is he saying?'_

"No! He's not getting cursed. You people should feel ashamed for thinking such thoughts!" I pouted and marched past him. '_I don't give a crap what those people think. Their all wrong. They don't understand.'_

"Ugh!" I entered my house with violent era. Stomped my way to bed without dinner, and pouted on the edge, "Why hasn't he come?" '_Did he forget? Does he truly like me?'_ Such thoughts brought tears to my eyes. That night I cried myself to sleep.

Waking up to someone banging on the front door, I glanced at my watch that said 2am and ran to the back door. '_Wait, wait, wait… the back door? Who would come to the back door? And it's raining outside!'_ The thunder had made me jump on the way there, making the scenario seam all the more scary.

I opened the door to find Itachi standing in the rain drenched, "Itachi!"

He stumbled into the kitchen, very unlike him to stumble. I ran to get a towel and wipe him off. "Reiko!" He yelled. He's never yelled before either.

His projecting voice scared me. "W-What's wrong Itachi?!"

He stood up and grabbed my shoulders to shake me. "I did it! I had to!" He nearly screamed into my face.

Tears ran down my face. I was so frightened, it was like he was insane or something.. "What happened?! What did you do?!"

"I killed them.. I did. It was my mission, I had to."

Frozen by the word 'killed', I grabbed Itachi's hand and pulled him into the bathroom, "You'll catch a cold like that!" I grabbed his vest and unzipped it. '_It might be a good idea to distract him from whatever is eating at him.' _"Give me your kunai pouch." And he did.

I ripped off most of his clothes and gave him a towel to shower with, "Use this." My demand sounded a little harsh. I was getting a little hasty.

"I cannot stay here." His eyes drifted to the floor with sadness.

"Why not?" I looked at him intensely._ 'What's going on Itachi?'_

"I'm a rogue ninja now."

"Rogue?" A shiver went down my spine. It could have been from the word, or it could have been from the cold draft let into my home, who knows.

"Yes."

"What happened?" '_What could have possibly happened? Itachi isn't rogue.'_

"I killed my clan," He exhaled his answer, "It was my mission."

"Your entire clan?!" Horrified at his reply.

"All but Sasuke," He exhaled his answer again, he seemed very out of breath. He must have run for a long time to get here, "I couldn't bring myself to kill him. But I killed my mother and father.. My best friend…" He said as tears welled up in his eyes, "What have I done?" _'Who is Sasuke?' _My thoughts and questions increased.

He stood there as tears of guilt and regret slid down his face. I couldn't do anything. I had nothing to say; I was speechless. '_Who would kill their entire clan just for a mission?'_ "All.. For a mission?" I questioned him in horror, unable to stop the harsh words from coming out.

"Yes.. The Hokage and Elders ordered me to do so. My clan was a threat and they thought I could handle the job. I failed my mission due to leaving my brother alive," His tears stopped and he looked as the drying tears on my face, "I have to go."

"Why?!" I ran after him as he grabbed his things and exited the bathroom. "Stay here! Stay hidden, with me.." I reached my arms around his torso and buried my face into his back, "I like you, so don't leave me." I sobbed.

"Word will get out that I killed my clan and that I'm a rogue ninja. This could put you in a dangerous position if anyone finds out I'm with you."

"Oh!" I gasped. _ 'That old man earlier.. He said that the villagers have noticed him meeting here.' _He put his wet clothes back on and headed for the back door. "Itachi,"

"Yes..?" He said as he finished redressing himself and turned to face me.

"I-I like.. You." I tried to speak with a choking lump in my throat.

He walked towards me and kissed my forehead, "I like you too," He paused and looked into my eyes, "I will never see you again. I won't risk your safety." His words were like knives piercing my heart. He opened the back door and left into the raining darkness. I stood there staring at the door. '_Why? Why won't my legs move? Why aren't I running after him? Itachi…'_

_'Itachi.. Where are you going? Why are you doing these things? Killing people you love. Coming to me, then leaving me. Will I ever see you again?' _These unanswered questions clawed at my heart. And all I can do, is stand here and cry. He's gone.

He's gone.

Two months dragged by. The slowest eight months of my life. He was gone and is still gone. Forever.. Gone. I had been thinking recently, and a long time ago I had heard of another Jinchuriki in the Country of Lightning from villagers that complained about there being far too many Jinchuriki in the Country of Lightning. And lately, after being so depressed, and crying myself to sleep every night, I wanted to do something with my life. Become a ninja. Protect my home country. Have an existence necessary to this world. To build the strength and find Itachi..

I finished packing my small bag of food, clothes, and some kunai Itachi gave me last year. Walking outside my front door, I looked back and sighed. "It's about time." I turned and started my journey to find the Jinchuriki I had heard about before, the eight tails.

The small amount of money my family left for me has helped me save up for this trip, so I could buy food along the way if needed. While I went through towns to stop for food, I would ask people about the Jinchuriki; where he lived, and such. I found one old man that knew where he lived and he gave me directions there. The directions were easy and I was able to find my way to the eight tails home. In misty mountains, it was peaceful walking along the bridge leading to his temple-like-home. I reached the temple within one and a half days. The Lightning Country isn't too terribly big..

His temple was on top of a mountain; as were everything else. I approached the temple and paused when I heard talking. I walked towards the entrance and saw him behind the shadows, "Who that? Yeah."

"… Um." He gave off an interesting greeting. His voice had a strange rhythmic sound when he spoke.

"Speak up, yo. You're disturbing my training. Yeah."

Annoyed at his musical way of talking I spoke up, "I'm Hatake Reiko," I bent over and bowed "It's nice to meet you!" I projected so my voice could reach him behind the shadows. He walked out, into the sun and I got a good look at him. He was huge! He must be seven feet tall; twice my size. He had white hair like mine, very tan skin, and a shiny new pair of sunglasses.

"What'a you want, yo. Wanna fight, kid?!" He pulled out a sword and pointed it at me.

"No! Just the opposite! I want you to teach me to fight!" I yelled, holding my fists in the air with excitement, hopefully to show how serious I was.

"Hmmmmmmm," He hummed for a moment, "Nope." '_Ugh! He's so mean!'_

"Eh?! But I came all this way to meet you! I want to learn ninjutsu, please help me!" I begged. Compared to him I sounded so small and week. I was desperate to learn and to be accepted.

"My bro is Raikage, yeah. You can go ta him for help. But I ain't helping nobody, yeah." He put away his sword and began walking back into his massive temple building.

"Yes sir.." I stumbled on my way to the town I had just visited, in search for the Raikage; the leader of the Lightning country. The village was filled with ninjas, unlike my small little town. I had asked the people in the street to which building I could find the Raikage. They pointed to a tall giant temple-like structure, taking me ten minutes to get there. It was a nice village, very big, had lots of restaurants, and a feeling of protection.

After a while of walking, I arrived at the Raikage tower and made my way inside. It was easy to get lost in its largeness, but a ninja escorted me to the Raikage's office. Inside were lots of windows that gave a great view of the village below, "Come in!" A voice yelled, and made me jump.

"Hello." I started, confused by the fact everybody keeps yelling when they talk. It was a very different culture from what I was used to. Everyone here spoke with power and confidence.

"Hurry up, I haven't all day." He urged, as I came around the corner to face him. He was huge too! '_My gosh! What do these people eat?! Jeez.'_

"H-Hello. Um.. I'd like to become your student!" I started up with the exciting, hopeful sounding voice and bowing to honor his position. '_Pleeeeease say yes!' _I begged in my thoughts.

"Bahahahahaha!" He laughed at me. '_What the heck?' _"And what's your name, kid?" He wiped a laughing tear from his eye and leaned closer to me to get a better look.

"Hatake Reiko! Please teach me ninjutsu!"

"Hm. And where are you from?" He tried to unravel my mystery.

"A town about a day south from here."

"Ahhh.. 'that' town" Ee said, _'Eh? 'that' town? What about 'that' town?'_ "You got money to pay for training?"

"Absolutely nothing!" I yelled back in all honesty, inspired by his energetic yelling, "When will I be able to start training with you?!"

"Ahahahahah!" He belched out another laugh, "So you think I'll be your teacher, eh?!" His loud talking was a bit scary and made me flinch a lot.

"I hope so! Please teach me yourself." I begged. '_Dear God, please, please, please let him teach me!'_

"Well.." He thought for a moment, "I think I will." A long silence fell between us. There was a crazy build up to whether he'd yes or not, "I won't go easy on ya just because you're a kid, okay?" He warned and stroked his long and white mustache.

"Yes!" I squeaked, excited that I was accepted into his studentship; to become his pupil. '_This… Will be awesome. Just wait for me Itachi! I'll be coming back for you!'_

~There we go :D Gimmie some comments please! I love me some critique! It's my first year writing so bring it on!


	3. Chapter 3

~Yay Cahpter 3! :D I don't think I'm portraying what I want to happen very well.. This whole meeting with Kakashi thing just sounds too unreal. What do you think?

-Two Years Later..

I swung a heavy kick of chakra filled strength at the Raikage, he dodged and swung an arm at me in return. I ducked to dodge, and threw six kunai accurately at his position to witch he easily leapt out of the way and onto a bolder. I jumped to his whereabouts and threw another punch. He then crossed his arms which prevented injury, but still sent him flying cross the battlefield. He landed and the gravity multiplied by my force creating a crater about thirty feet in diameter.

He held up his hand to signal that it's time for a break and jumped out of the freshly made crater. He walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder, "Not bad," He said with a satisfied expression. I looked up at his face as he stood eight feet tall; fitting three feet in length from shoulder to shoulder, "Not bad at all. I am proud of my student."

"Thanks, Shishou!" My smile lit up my face with little effort. After two years of training, I had become very carefree and a hard worker.

"You're ready for the Chuunin Selection Exam!" He barked out to get me excited. "I'll send you with two other students from this village to form your three-man-team. So go get ready! The Chuunin Exam is in two weeks!" He yelled in encouragement and urge. "You have super human strength like me, and average kenjutsu ability. You have also gained control of your bijuu which should make for some exciting battles."

"Shishou, where is the Chuunin Exam taking place?" I asked as I plopped on the ground, exhausted from our previous battle.

"Konoha!" '_Eh?!_ _That's where Itachi's from! And.. Kakashi.'_

"Can I leave tomorrow, Shishou? Please?" I begged. '_It'd be awesome if I could leave early and get to spend time with Kakashi.'_

"Hmm…" He thought for a while. "Sure, why not". I jumped into the air and squealed, then ran over to hug the Raikage. He laughed in pride from his well-established student. "Let me tell you one thing first.. You will be joining a team of two other genins. They're third member of their team passed away and so you'll be their replacement. I think you'll like them too." He paused to take in the moment a little longer, "Ok, go and pack!"

"Yes!" I dashed off to my very small apartment that was paid for by the missions I had gone on through the two years of my training here.

The next day I met up with my partners. I recognized them right away, I had seen them training before, but never had the chance of officially meeting them. I had spent all my time with Raikage or the eight-tails, Bee. The Raikage knew I was the two-tails, which was part of the reason he took me under his wing and trained me personally. As stern and scary a character he is, he still wanted to develop that closer relationship with me, so that he could give me comfort through the hard time I have gone through as a monster. He even forced his brother Bee to give me training on how to control my bijuu, which took far over a year of training to accomplish. Now that I can freely control my bijuu, who I've gotten to know and be on good terms with, he's not a bad monster to live with. It can easily become an advantage to have such a mighty beast at my side to side with and aid me in battle.

I was lost in my own thoughts as I remembered the two awesome years I had spent in training here, "Ahem!" We all straightened up and flinched at Raikage's loud cough of 'shut up and listen'. "Ok! This is Hatake Reiko my pupil." They turned to look at me standing there. "Reiko!"

"Yes!" I answered back, very excited to start this journey.

"These students are Darui and Shee. They are ready for the Chuunin Selection Exam as well. Now! On your way there, get to know each other; So that if you're engaged in battle, you can work together as a team." The Raikage looked at us with stern eyes for a moment, "Ok dismissed!"

And with that, we headed on our way to the Fire Country. I followed the two in front of me who seemed to know where they were headed, they both looked so mysterious. The Darui guy had short spiky white hair that covered the left side of his face. He was somewhat handsome and had quite the confident look about him. The other boy had short blonde hair and looked conceited. They both looked around about the same age as me, making me wonder if they were as good as I was. I was somewhat conceited too, can't help it when I'm carrying a freaking powerful monster inside that I now control. '_Interesting people.. I wonder what their personalities are like.' _"Um.." I tried to start up a conversation, "What type of ninja are you?"

"Ninjutsu and kenjutsu." Darui said boldly and quickly.

"Sensory and kenjutsu," Said the other.

"Oh, ok good." I smiled and thought over their abilities.

"So, you're the Raikage's favorite?" Darui pointed at me as we traveled.

"Eh?"

"And you're also a Jinchuriki like his brother."

"Yes.. That is correct." '_So they know I'm a Jinchuriki? And they're not scared. That's… good.' _I giggled a little, which caught their attention as we were jumping from tree to tree. It was the best and most efficient way of travel once we left the mountain tops. They turned to see me smiling at them. "I'm glad you're not scared of me."

"Why would we be?" Shee spoke with a tone in his voice like I'd offended him.

"Well.." '_Sigh, I don't wanna talk about this.'_ "I was greatly feared in the small town I grew up in. Everyone avoided me because of the Bijuu. To them, I was a cursed being."

Shee immediately answered with, "Ah.. That makes a good story."

"Do you want us to feel the same?" Darui asked with a teasing voice.

"No! Please take care of me. I would love to be friends." I pleated.

Darui laughed, "Alright then."_ 'This will go well I think. Not a bad start to a new team!'_

Six days of traveling, and we were almost there. We had gotten to know each other a little and came up with some strategies for later combat. An hour went by of continued leaping from tree to tree and I was getting tired, but we finally reached the front gates of Konoha. This too looked like a large city, but completely surrounded by forests. It's no wonder they call it the 'Hidden Leaf' Village. Two men met us at the front and signed us in. They had been expecting us as some of the ninjas from out of town to come and compete in the Chuunin Exam; although we were a few days early.

"Hey," I said to get Darui and Shee's attention. "I'm going to search the village for someone. I'll meet you at the Cross Keys Inn tonight."

"Yeah, sure." Was their reply and with that I was off. Jumping on roof tops to get a better view of the city caught a few peoples' eyes of attention but I ignored them and kept jumping. "Wooow!" I exclaimed as I observed a beautiful city. It was much more different then the country of Lightning, which was mostly in the mountains and clouds. This place filled with life and colors, unlike our home that was surrounded by mist, dull colors with lots of black, greys, and whites. Konoha also had built in a giant earthy canyon it looked like. It was hard adjusting to the different kind of air down here in Konoha since the altitude difference is so great. But I got use to the idea, having left my home in the mountains many times for missions. So ninjas easily adapt; it's what we're good at.

"Big isn't it?" A voice spoke from behind me making me jump. I turned to see a man with a green vest and white hair popping off the top of his head.

"Who are you?!" I said, still trying to gather my senses after being startled.

"You don't recognize me?" He spoke in a disappointed tone of voice followed by a sigh. It took a long moment to realize that he is my brother!

"Kakashi!" I jumped forward in his arms and hugged him as tight as I could muster, even if it was our first time to meet in over fourteen years, "It's you! It's you! It's really you!" I yelled with intense excitement.

"Reiko," He smiled. "It's been so long.." We didn't hold for long, since it did feel a little awkward, "You were just a toddler when I last saw you."

"Yes! I'm all grown up now!"

"Not yet, you're what? How old now?"

"Sixteen and a half," I smiled at him, "And you, brother?"

"Just turned twenty-six," He put his hands in his pocket.

"But how did you know I was coming?"

"Raikage sent a note to the Hokage letting him know that one of his teams will come early and to expect them. He also mentioned that the two-tails was coming and so the Hokage told me. The news surprised me, I had no idea where you were or what had become of you." I didn't answer, stunned by all this and a bit in emotional overload. He noticed my shock and changed the subject, "You staying at an Inn?"

"Yes.. With two other companions I don't know very well."

"Then you should get to know them. You're here for the Exam right?"

"Yes, you're right."

He paused and to think, "Want to come to my apartment? I have a vacant room at the moment." He suggested.

"I won't be intruding?"

"Nope, you're my sister. Now, go get your stuff."

"Thanks, Kakashi." I smiled and led him to the Cross Keys Inn for my things I had sent with Darui and Shee.

We caught up with my two teammates at the Inn and gathered my bags. We left shortly after to head over to Kakashi's apartment. He opened the door and we walked in. "Wow.." '_Not bad.'_

"Hm?"

"It's nice and tidy in here. Lots of space. Good apartment." I smiled. He showed me to the guest room.

"This is my friend's room, but he is on a mission right now, so it'll be alright for you to stay here. Don't worry the sheets are clean."

"Oh alright."

"The bathroom's over there. So take a shower and head to bed. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow."

"We do?"

"Yes, I'll be introducing you to my students."

"Oh I'd love to meet them!" I squealed with enthusiasm. '_I maybe I can invite Darui and Shee..'_

"Alright then, good night, Reiko." He exited the room.

"Good night, Kakashi."

After my shower I realized I hadn't brought my sleepwear to Konoha, my eyes widened on what to do. I looked into the bathroom cabinet and there sat a pair of clothes. Grey pants and a dark green t-shirt, very plain. '_I guess they belong to Kakashi's friend, but I'll put them on anyway since they would do just fine.'_ I laid in bed staring at the ceiling after changing. '_He is.. Handsome I guess; from what I can see over his mask. I wonder why his face is all covered up. He probably has zits or something.'_ I laughed, rolled over to a comfortable position, and fell right to sleep.

Morning came fast; I hurried downstairs after getting dressed in my ninja wear. "Kakashi?" I searched the room for him. '_Where did he go? He's probably asleep.. If he does that he'll be late for this morning.'_ I saw his bedroom door was wide open so I let myself in. And there he lay, in bed totally fast asleep._ 'What the?'_ I walked over to his side and sat down next to him to watch him only for a moment. I began poking his sheet covered face to wake him up. Hefinally sat up. The sheets fell into his lap when he did, exposing his face. "EH?!" I gasped as I discovered his face.

"What?'' He stared at me confused.

"Y-Y-Your f-face!" I pointed at his exposed mouth, nose, and cheeks.

"Eh. Eh?!" He jumped up to find his shirt that covered it. I sat on his bed staring at him in total amazement. '_How can.. I be related to someone as freaking gorgeous as him!? This is inhuman!'_ "Shhh… This did not just happen." He said as he glared at me with if-you-tell-anyone-I-will-kill-you eyes.

"K-Kakashi.." I stood up and walked over to him. "Why hide it?"

"It's distracting." He finally spoke after a long pause. _'Psh_, O_h whatever.'_

I stood and walked toward the door with my hands on my hips, "Well, what do you want for breakfast?" I stared at him and forced him to answer with my eyes.

"Whatever you want." He finished zipping up his vest.

"Kay." I freely searched his cabinets and refrigerator to whip up some eggs and toast. Not a bad start to the day.

We finished up in ten minutes, were out the door, and on our way to training ground four. Darui and Shee decided not to come and watch. They wanted to do other things so I didn't push them to come.

I didn't hide the fact that I was overflowing with excitement to see Kakashi's students. "Alright. We're here."

"Kakai-Sensi, you're late!" I saw this cute little pink haired girl run up and punch my brother's arm with a painfully cute glare on her face. '_Whoa now.. Pink hair? Well I guess its ok, I have white hair after all..' _Two other boys walked up, one with black hair and the other blonde.

"Ok everyone, listen up. This is my sister, Reiko. She will be accompanying me, today, as a sub teacher." He gestured towards me, and their heads all turned to me. There was a moment of silence before I remembered to speak my part.

"Nice to meet you! Please take care of me." I bowed.

Kakashi pointed towards his students, "This is Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naru-"

He was interrupted by the little blonde boy, "Uzumaki Naruto!" He spoke with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. '_Such a cute boy.'_ I smiled.

Kakashi continued, "And, Uchiha Sasuke." I stopped to stare at him with widened eyes. '_Uchiha Sasuke?!'_

"Y-Your Uchiha Sasuke?!" I pointed at him with an intense expression I couldn't remove.

Sasuke looked at me with darting eyes that pierced my soul. "What about it?" I had covered my mouth to try and wipe away the stiffness I developed.

"Sorry.." Realizing my rudeness, "I knew your brother." I smiled in hope to lighten the mood as it grew dark the moment I said 'brother'. He looked at me with the word hate written all over his face. He stayed quiet and didn't say anything. '_I hope I didn't offend him by bringing up his brother. I'm just really, really surprised. That's all..' _

Kakashi helped save the moment, "Alright everyone, let's start our training." He looked at me and signaled that it was my turn to speak. "Do you have anything to teach them?" '_Teach? I'm a genin.'_

"Kakashi. I'm a genin.." I looked at him, searching for reasoning.

He walked over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "I wanna see what you've got, and I have to meet with someone for a moment."

Dumbfounded and clueless on what the heck he just meant, I searched through my mind for something to teach. Something cool, "Um.. I guess we could work on chakra control." I looked at Kakashi with obvious uncomfortable feelings. He nodded to signify that it was a good idea and left me for a moment to do what he said he'd do. So with that, I began. "Everyone, manipulate your chakra." They did so by placing their hands in front of their faces, and closed their eyes. "Now concentrate all your chakra in your right hand." I stood observing their efforts. "Once you've gathered chakra, slam a punch into the ground." I spoke remembering the exact phrase Raikage used to teach me. I looked over at where Kakashi had gone, over by the trees and there stood a woman with dark hair pulled back in a spiked pony. She had a trench coat and a fishnet shirt. '_That's attractive.. Heh.'_

I looked back over at the training students as they threw a punch at the ground as hard as they could muster. "OW!" I heard one of the three shout. The blonde boy stood their shaking his hand in the air as if it helped relieve pain.

"Sorry!" I walked over to him and placed my hand on his. "I didn't mean for it to cause you pain. Although it's impossible to achieve the goal of making an earthquake with just your fist and not feel a little pain.. I suppose." I giggled then returned to my natural posture. "How did it go for you?" I looked over at Sakura and Sasuke as they observed their small dents in the ground.

"Pretty well" Sakura said as she crossed her arms, looked at the dent Sasuke made, and smirked with confidence that her results were better than the other two. And it was true; she had quite a dent in the ground. Sasuke didn't say anything, but stood their examining the ground.

"I want to make an earthquake.." Naruto spoke as he crouched down to feel the dirt. He sprung up with a determined look on his face and began to form his chakra again. '_Wow, look at him go.' _Seeing Naruto start up again made Sasuke and Sakura join in too. Again, I observed their efforts. They slammed their hands into the ground, on top of their previous dents.

"Hm.. Not bad." I said right as Kakashi had just finished and had walked back over to us. He then walked over to Sasuke to examine his efforts. I nearly forgotten he was missing, since I was really getting into this teaching thing. "Naruto, when you mold chakra, keep holding it until you finish the punch. You're forgetting that." I nodded and walked off, further into the field. "Watch." I began, "Gather your chakra", I did so, "Focus into your hand and let it go into the floor with a bang!" I punched the floor with descent force because I wouldn't want to leave a huge mark on the training field. Their eyes widened. I jumped out of my small crater and returned to the group. "And that's my mini performance." I giggled in satisfaction.

"Not bad." Kakashi crossed his arms and looked at me. "I'll take over from here" He moved on to another jutsu and lecture.

"Alright that's enough for today. Get lots of rest because tomorrow.. Is the beginning of the Chuunin Exam."

Naruto jumped with eyes brighter than the sunset, "Osu!" He marched off, "Time for Ramen!" '_Ugh. I'm really hungry. Ramen sounds soooo good too.' _

I reached out and tugged on Kakashi's jacket, "Can we go get ramen?" I smiled in hope of a positive answer.

"I suppose." Even though he had his mask on, I could tell he was definitely smiling.

We arrived at the Ichiru Ramen place along with Naruto and sat down, ready to slurp away all our hard efforts today; to enjoy ourselves to the fullest. "You did well today Naruto." I started up a conversation.

"Thanks, nee-chan." He smiled then stuffed his faced with noodles.

'_Nee-chan.. No one has ever called me that before. I'm happy..'_ I smiled, "Naruto, you have a lot of potential." I took a bite, "Your parents must be proud of you." Kakashi was sitting between us, and I notice him tense up a bit.

"I.." He began, "I don't have any parents" He continued eating.

"Oh.. I'm sorry.. What happened?" I spoke, hoping that I wasn't prying.

"I don't know. But I don't have any." He stopped to slurp the last of the ramen. "Another bowel Oji-Chan!" '_He's never had any, eh? Must be lonely._'

"Naruto," He stopped eating for a moment to look at me, "Do your best!" I gave him a thumbs up and smiled. He returned the thumbs up and continued slurping away. '_Do your best!'_

"I'm stuffed" Kakashi leaned back and patted his stomach. 'Wait what? He ATE? In public?!

I stared at him for a moment before answering, "Me too." I then placed my chopsticks on my empty bowel, "Naruto, I'll be buying your dinner tonight." I stood up and pulled out my small coin pouch to whip out some money.

"Thank you, nee-chan." He hopped up then exited to wait for us outside the restaurant.

"G'night" Kakashi said then headed off in the direction of his apartment.

"G'night! Kakai-Sensei! Nee-Chan!"

"Good night Naruto!" I smiled then followed Kakashi home.

After getting ready for bed in the strange pajamas I had found earlier, I spotted Kakashi before he had gone to bed, "Good night, Kakashi" He lifted his hand in response and continued what he was doing.

~Any critiques? I know it needs work. I'm definitely not satisfied with it yet! Please comment :]


	4. Chapter 4

~I feel weird about how I wrote this chapter. I am just repeating part of what actually happened in the story from my perspective. Sorry if this chapter was a bit boring, anyways, enjoy!

Morning came fast again; it was the day of the chuunin exam! My team members were going to meet me at he exam building, so I could take my time getting there. '_They don't seam to be very sociable with me..'_ I hopped in the shower after slipping off the borrowed pajamas, I wanted to be clean for the exam in case it takes a couple days. Soon after my shower I started redressing myself back into the pajamas to go find my ninja gear. Right as I was about to pull over the dark green t-shirt, the bathroom door opened. I gasped as a man I didn't know stared blankly at a half-naked version of me. I let out a small scream as he slammed the door in embarrassment.

"Sorry!" He yelled through the door after catching his breath.

"It's.. Ok." I slipped the t-shirt back on quickly and opened the door. He was standing off to the side, red in the cheeks from scandalous scene. He had short medium brown hair with an odd metal helmet that shaped his face. His eyes were as dark as mine and had average looks. Nothing special about him and nothing particularly ordinary either, "Are you Kakashi's friend?" I asked, still freely studying his appearance.

"Yes.. Um. What are you doing here?"

"Staying the night for the Chuunin Selection Exam."

"Did you know.. This is my bedroom?" His voice got softer as he asked.

"Yes, but Kakashi said I could stay. He also said you wouldn't be back from a mission for a while, so I could sleep here." I spoke plainly.

"Did you sleep.. In my bed?"

"I did." I arched a brow in wonder of where he was headed with these questions.

His reaction was just a turn of the head and walked out of the room. The tops of his ears were red which said a lot. I smirked and followed him out to see Kakashi's face as his friend complains, "Kakashi.." The man searched for my brother and eventually found him in the kitchen eating breakfast and reading a book, "Kakashi, you knew I was coming home today, didn't you?"

"Oh, good morning Tenzou." Kakashi ignored his question.

"You even let her wear my clothes?!" The man began to get frustrated. I blushed when I remember these were not my clothes, "Who is this girl?!"

"She is my sister." Kakashi answered in a very calm and cool fashion, "Half-sister, really." He paused to clear his throat, "Tenzou, this is Reiko. Reiko, this is Tenzou my roommate."

"Nice meeting you." I bowed and looked up hoping for a better reaction than our first meeting.

"Yeah, same." He slightly bowed but looked away, "Can you go change out of my clothes?"

"Ah. Yes.."

"Weak." I heard Kakashi whisper to the man as I left the room. Afterward was a small chuckle from both.

I quickly changed and ran to grab my things to set off for the Second Exam. The man named Tenzou and Kakashi were still talking as I approached them in the kitchen, "Ready?" Kakashi asked.

"Yep."

"Alright, let's go." He stood and walked me to the door.

I quickly turned to Tenzou who watched us leave, "Bye-bye!"

"Bye." He smiled back at me. He had strange eye features that sculpted his eyes, it made for a strangely amusing smile. Nothing near Kakashi though, nothing can be compared to my brother's features. No wonder he wears a mask.

'_It's nice and bright outside. The sun looks lovely popping above the trees,' _I thought as I walked outside with my brother showing me the way. Along the way, I spotted Naruto walking around a corner up ahead. When I reached over there he was with three little children. I smiled and moved on past the street he had walked down to continue following Kakashi. As I continued I heard a squeal from the direction of the children and Naruto. I peeked around the corner of the fencing to see if everything was alright and there were two older kids about my age standing there. One of them that wore a black pajama like outfit stood holding one of the smaller children by their collar. '_Ugh! How could they? Are they bullying?!_'

"Kakashi, I'll catch up with you in a little bit." I yelled as I ran around one of the fences so they couldn't see me on the other side.

I was about to make my move when I heard a thud. "Argh!"

I continued to listen from behind the fencing, "Sasuke-Kun!" '_I know that voice, it's Sakura.'_

"What?!" '_Sounds like it hurt.. Go Sasuke!'_

"Eeee! Sasuke is so cool!" I heard Sakura squeal.

"Kankuro.." A voice with dead harmony spoke. '_Another one?'_

"G-Gaara" The older boy's voice was shivering.

"You're a disgrace to our village." The eerie voice spoke again.

"S-Sorry Gaara" '_Maybe.. I should make my entrance with a little spice of genjustu.'_ I giggled in my head then performed my best. A moment later I appeared on the fence above where I was previously standing by, hiding away. It should have looked as though a red ribbon was blown into their midst and wrapped around an invisible body which then became my true self to end my illusion.

"Good morning," I smiled in hope of lightening the mood.

"Nee-Chan!" Naruto yelled and ran over to the fence where I stood in my cool pose.

"Naruto, who are these people?" I examined their forehead protectors. They were ninja of the Sand Country. '_They are probably here for the Chuunin Exam. They look like a rough crowd.. Best be on my guard.'_ There was a boy hanging from the tree in front of me who stared at me. His eyes were outline with what looked like black paint, and the irises were sharp sea foam green. Very unpleasant.

A moment later he teleported next to the other two other sand ninjas, "You with the cute face" I pointed at the boy that had just teleported by a whirl of sand, "What's your name?" I smiled still giving my all to lighten the mood.

He didn't reply for a while, kinda bothered my remark 'cute' but eventually answered, "Gaara of the Desert." He looked at me with eyes that pierced my soul. '_He.. Is scary. I wonder if there are more scary people taking the exam like this boy?'_

"You with the pretty face," I pointed at the female sand ninja, "And you with the artistic face." I pointed to the last of the sand ninjas, "What are your names?"

"I am Temari and this is Kankurou. These two are my brothers." She gestured to each of the boys standing there, pissed that she was acting cooperative with my questions. I had far too much confidence for my own good, and it showed.

"Are you here for the Chuunin Exam?" I ignored the red flags and my gut feeling that I should shut up.

"Let's go." The boy named Gaara spoke with his monotone voice then began to walking in the other direction.

"Yes" The other two followed.

I turned to Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto standing there. "You alright?"

"Yes.." Sakura spoke with a thinking face, as though she was replaying the last five minutes in her head in hope to understand it.

"Well I'm off." I turned to walk along the top of the fence to my original destination.

"Eh?!" Naruto turned to look at Sakura, "What's a Chuunin Exam exactly?"

"Baka-Naruto! Its where a gennin takes a test to become a chuunin. Remember yesterday at training?" Sakura's voice showed clearly she was irritated. I kept walking down the fence. Getting food was my top priority.

A moment later I arrived at a dango restaurant. Dangos and tea sounded brilliant this morning, '_Who cares about the fat? I could use the calories.' _The waitress seated me at a four person table, and then took my order. "I'd like two dangos and lots of tea, please." I gave a cheesy smile.

"Yes." she giggled at me being silly, then went to get my food. I looked around the room admiring the morning crowd and noticed the three sand ninjas that I had met before were getting dangos here as well. '_Should I go talk to them? And formally welcome them to Konoha?'_

As I sat there in discussion with myself whether I should go over there, the waitress brought my food and gave me my receipt. I handed her the money from my little coin pouch and ate quickly so I could go catch up with my teammates. '_But I would like to properly welcome the sand ninjas..' _I finished my last bite then walked up to the three sand nin sitting together. "Long time no see."

"Oh it's you" Tamari shook her chopsticks at me after stuffing her mouth with another dango.

"I wanted to just say real fast, welcome to Konoha. Please enjoy your stay for the exam." I bowed. '_Maybe coming up to them to say this was a little too much? I'm not even from Konoha.' _I laughed at myself inside.

"Thanks." Temari gave a warm smile that made me thank myself for coming to speak with them. It gave me the energy I needed for this morning.

Thirty minutes happened fast, I had run into Kakashi and my teammates on the way to the exam building. We were almost through the iron doors to wait inside the first exam room, Kakashi pulled me to the side. "Reiko, don't use '**that**' power," He whispered then opened the door to let me and my team in, "Good luck." I turned back to him for a second to see him smiling behind his mask then walking off. _'Thanks Kakashi.' _

Once in the room everyone stared at us. Their eyes were eyes that screamed the bloody desire to kill me. It was not a very welcoming place to be. '_But I guess this would make sense, because it's an exam and you have to prove your toughness, right?'_ I felt as though I was going fall into a pit of darkness if all those eyes kept watching me like they did for much longer. "Nee-chan!" '_I know that voice!'_ I turned to see Naruto running up to greet me.

"Naruto!" I smiled and placed my hand on his shoulder, "Let's do our best!"

"Yeah!" He agreed and ran over to his fellow rookies. They were talking to a boy who looked to be my age with glasses. He was holding identification cards. I had seen them once before in Kaminari no Kuni while working under the Raikage. I walked over to take a look at the cards he held out. He used his technique to turn it into a hologram, revealing the information.

As I walked over to view the identification cards, a boy rammed his shoulder into mine, hurting me a little, "Don't act so cocky and tough, trash." He insulted me. As I turned to face him, my eyes pierced him with my thoughts. In half a second his arm was bleeding, "Ah..!" He gripped it strongly and stared at me with trauma. My eyes never broke away from his as I watched the terror grow inside of him. He honestly didn't know who he was messing with.

"Reiko," Darui had walked over and placed his hand on my shoulder, "Let's find ourselves a seat," He pulled me away and broke my thoughts. I began to follow him over to a spot for us to sit when I heard a whooshing noise to my right. '_Eh?_!' I looked over to see the boy with glasses from a moment ago had fallen to the floor and was throwing up. '_What just happened?!'_

Poof! A justu sound came from the front of the room. Everyone's head turned to look and see a whole group of people standing there with clipboards. But to my surprise, in the front of all the people was a familiar man in a trench coat and scars all over his face. '_Oooh! I know him! He's uh.. Uh uh um.. Ibiki! I remember him from a mission I was on a while back.' _I smiled at his arrival, he always had the coolest entrances.

Ibiki sternly looked into the crowd of contestants, "Everyone, I am your first exam instructor, Morino Ibiki." He paused to look at the back of the room, "Hey, you three from the Hidden Sound, don't think you can do anything you want before the exam. Do you want to fail already?" He ordered roughly. I sighed in happiness of his rowdy spirit, reminding me of my beloved master back in the Lightning Country, the Raikage.

One of the sound ninjas spoke up with an unnatural voice, "I'm sorry.. I was just getting a little excited since it's my first exam."

"Then let me say this," Ibiki announced, "You are not allowed to fight unless given permission by an examiner. And even if you are given permission by an examiner, you cannot kill the other. Pigs who go against me will fail immediately, understand?"

"This exam sounds too soft and easy!" One of the other sound ninjas blurted to sound tough; resulted in chuckles from the examiners holding the chipboards standing in the front of the classroom. I began to feel sweat secrete on my skin from the toughness around me. This was most definitely going to be a hard exam.

"We will now begin the first exam of the Chuunin Selection Exam. Turn in your applications, take a number slip, and sit where the number tells you to; then we will pass out the papers for the written exam tests." He ordered us.

We all listened to what he said and found our way to our seats after receiving a number. I was separated from my teammates and placed between a boy I didn't know and Gaara, the boy from earlier. I could feel a restlessness waft off of him, giving me shivers. I felt very uneasy and wished to be by some other person. It felt like all my energy was going to be sucked out, just from sitting next to him! I looked up and noticed all the examiners who stood in the front from before, found seats all around the room and held clipboards in their hands, ready to write critiques. A very intimidating thing to see, it didn't look good.

Ibiki reached for a piece of chalk and began explaining the exam, "I'm going to explain the rules and I **won't** accept questions, so listen up!" He barked, "First rule: each person is given 10 points from the start. The written exam is made up of 10 questions, each worth 1 point. This is a deduction test, so if you get a question wrong, you lose one point. Second rule: the pass-fail will be determined by your team total points." A gasp and worried murmurs covered the room; I guess there are some dumb people in here.

"Wait! The teams TOTAL points?!" I heard Sakura yell form across the room. Then I remember that Naruto isn't the brightest of ninjas, so they might have a little trouble passing. '_Poor Sakura..'_

"Shut up!" Ibiki yelled at the confused young lady, "There are reasons for this, so listen." He continued,

"Now that you know that, if an examiner determines you cheating or something alike during the test, each action will cause you to lose two points. So some people will end up being forced to leave this place without their test ever being graded. Those who will try to cheat without thinking carefully will only hurt themselves. You are all training to become chuunin, so act like a first-rate ninja. If anyone on your team scores a zero, then the whole team will fail." Complaining covered the room again, but the instructor continued, "The last problem will be given 45 minutes after the exam begins, so now, begin!" he yelled and all of us flipped our pages over.

The tests consisted of 10 questions like he said. I scanned through them to see what I was dealing with and saw a few difficult and several very hard questions; question that I might have to think pretty hard about. At least I studied and paid attention in class; I wasn't super smart, but I knew a thing or two. I have an average success rate for the exam and I know my other teammates feel the same. Motion grasped my attention so I looked over to the right at the scary Gaara boy. He held out his hand and flying sand slowly gathered around it. The next step in this process was to make an eye out of the sand. I got a little freaked out as he did it, but it's not like I can do anything about it. '_This kid is weird!'_ I yelled to myself in horror. He crushed the eye in his hand and the sand dispersed through the room. Before long he started to write answers on his test sheet. I assumed that was his way of cheating and assumed he isn't that smart of a kid then. '_Oh well..'_

30 minutes went by so fast. The number of contestants narrowed down by a lot over those few minutes. People were caught cheating and were forced to leave, along with their teammates. Thank God none of my teammates were caught.

I tried my best at all the questions and couldn't find myself to answer one of the questions. I slapped down an answer that could pass and moved on to review and look over my answers. I felt sort of confident but there's a chance I could have gotten some of them wrong. As I was studying my answers Ibiki spoke up again, "It is time for the final question. There is one last rule to add as well, though.. It is a helpless rule. First, you are all going to choose whether or not you are going to take this last problem."

"Eh?!" Temari yelled in frustration, "And what happens if we choose not to take it?!"

"Then your points will be reduced to zero." He paused, "In other words.. You will fail. And your two other teammates will fail with you." Murmurs started up again of complains and objections, "There is one other rule.. If you get the final question wrong.. You will lose the privilege to take the Chuunin Exam forever."

"What kind of stupid rule is that?!" A boy yelled from the back. There should be those here who have taken the Chuunin Exam in the past!"

"You were unlucky then.. This year, I am the **rule**. That is why I gave you the option of quitting. Those who are not confident can choose not to take it, and take the exam next year, or the year after that." There was a moment of silence before he spoke again, "Let us begin, those who will choose not to take the final question, please raise your hands. After we confirm your numbers, we will ask you to leave."

The silence broke as one boy raised his hand, "I quit! I won't take it!"

Then another hand raised, "Me either!"

"Me too! I quit!" As the ninjas left the room, their teammates followed and exited the exam.

"Screw you! Like I would quit this exam!" I heard a familiar voice yell out with confidence, "I'm gunna take this problem! Even if I become a genin forever.. I'm gunna become a Hokage anyway! I'm not scared!" A slam on the examination table followed after Naruto's rampage as he sat down.

Ibiki ignored Naruto and continued, "I will ask one more time, if you want to quit, now is the chance."

"I'm not going to take back my words, for that is my way of the ninja!" And as he spoke I felt a blast of courage perk me up. I wasn't the only one that felt it too; the whole room looked as though they were given a shot of energy and confidence. No more hands were raising at this point, so Ibiki announced to the room, "Nice determination. Then.. For the first exam, everyone here.. Passes!"

I could hear pencils drop from all around me. Sakura asked what we all were thinking, "What?! What about the final question?!"

"There was no such thing to begin with!" Ibiki smiled with a chuckle following afterwards, "Or you can call the two-choice question the final question." He continued to smile, making me smile as well. I loved that part of him, he was so unpredictable. Although, I'll have to admit, it was a weird psychological game he played with us, and I'm even a bit exhausted by it.

Temari yelled too, "Wait! Then all the other 10 questions were just a waste?!"

"No.. It's not. The other questions accomplished their purpose." He tucked his hands in his pockets, "Their purpose was to test each individual's information gathering skills."

"Information gathering skills?" She asked.

"First, this tests purpose lies in the first rule.. Your pass-fail decision is based on your three person teams. By giving you that idea, we have given you an unprecedented amount pressure to try and not be a nuisance to your team. But these test problems cannot be solved by your genins. So most of the people here should have come to the conclusion to cheat in order to receive points. In other words, this exam assumed that everyone was going to cheat. So we snuck in two of our chuunin that knew the answers to be targets of cheating. Bu those who cheated like a fool, of course, failed. Information can have greater value than life at times, and in missions and battlefields.." He untied his metal protector-hat covering, "Information is contested with the lives of people!" He removed the cloth that covered his head and revealed to us his scars. All over the skin on his head were scars, burn markings, and screw holes. Not to mention he already had two giant scars covering the front of his face. '_That's right..' _ I remembered, '_He was Konoha's ANBU torture and interrogation leader. Holy crap I never knew he had these kinds of scars and markings.' _ "The information that an enemy gets after being noticed by a third person will not necessarily be accurate." He spoke again while retying his head covering, "Remember this. Getting incorrect information can cause great damage to your teammates and village. So me made you all gather information in the form of cheating. We kicked out those that were lacking in the field. That's what went on." '_Eh.. Makes sense..'_

"But I still can't agree to that last question.." Temari stated in disbelief. You could hear the fatigue in her voice from the mental stress of all this.

"This final question was the main question of this first exam."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked in disbelief as well.

"Let me explain, the final question was a 'take or not take' choice. Needless to say it was a painful two-part question. Those who did not take it, failed with their teams. If you chose to take it and could not answer it.. Your right to take the chuunin exam would have been taken away for forever. It was a very insincere problem." He paused to let us all soak in what he had just said then spoke again, "How about **_this_** two-choice problem, let's assume that you have become a chuunin. Your mission is to capture a secret document. The number of enemy ninja, their abilities, and armaments are unknown. And there may be traps that the enemy ninja have set up. Now, will you accept this mission or not? Just because your life and the lives of your teammate may be in danger, are you able to avoid dangerous missions? The answer is no. there are mission that carry heavy risks, but cannot be avoided. The ability to show your courage to your teammates when needed, and the ability to get through a bad situation.. That is what we look for in a chuunin, a squad leader. Those who cannot bet their fate in a critical situation.. Those who give up when given the chance because there is a next year, and let their minds sway over an uncertain future.. Fools who only carry a light determination like that have no right to become a chuunin. **_That_** is what I believe." Ibiki suspended to look around the room, "I am saying that you here who have chosen to take it gave the right answer to the final very difficult question. You can deal with the difficulties you will face you have broken through the entrance. The First Exam of the Chuunin Selection ends now. I wish you luck."

"ALRIGHT!" We all turned to look at the yelling Naruto, "Wish us luck! Alright! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!"

Within a second after that, a window toward the front, left of the room broke as something flew through, releasing kunai in four different directions. As the kunai hit the ceiling and walls around, a giant tarp displayed itself, blocking Ibiki who now stood behind it. "Everybody! There's no time to be happy." A girl had popped out of the tarp that flew open, spewing words of discomfort to us all, "I am the second examiner, Mitarashi Anko!" She gestured to the newly displayed tarp which had written kanji saying 'Second Examiner Mitarashi Anko is here!'. I recognized the woman who now stood before us in a fancy pose, she was with Kakashi a while back. I remember seeing her with him once, "Let's go to the next exam!" She commanded, "Follow me!" She threw her fits into the air with assurance but then paused as she took a glance at the speechless crowd before her, "78..?" She asked as Ibiki snuck out from behind the tarp that spread across the room, "Ibiki.. You let 26 teams pass? The first exam must have been too soft."

"Looks like there are a lot of excellent students this time." He answered her back with a tilt of his head and a smile tugging at his lips.

"Oh well.." The dark haired women sighed, "I'm going to make sure more than half of the teams fail in the next exam." Her statement send a horrifying shudders down our backs, '_More than half?!' _"I'm getting excited.." She whispered to herself, and then announced, "I will explain the details tomorrow. We will go somewhere else, so ask your jounin teachers about the rally point and time. That is all. Dismissed!" We all slowly rose from our seats that held puddles of sweat on them. So gross.. We all met with our teammates and sighed with part relief and part exhaustion.

"We passed the first exam.." Darui exhaled.

"What the heck is that woman thinking?" Shee asked what we were all thinking.

As we walked down the hallway and out of the first exam building a ninja from before whose arm I had cut walked up to me with his teammates. He had a bandage on his small wound and anger in his eyes, "Were you the one who cut me?!"

"Didn't you see?" I teased, knowing there was no way he could have seen it. It was a chakra scratch, only few people can actually spot it when it happens. It was a fancy trick that Bee taught me since I hold the bijuu inside of me and at my disposal.

"Shut up! You're just messing with me! Let's fight!" He lunged forward with a kunai to lash at me. A second later again his other arm was cut, just by me avoiding his attack, "W-What?!" He gripped his arm in horror. He didn't see me cut him again. He desire and explanation, I didn't want to because it looks cooler if I don't.

Quickly afterwards Ibiki stepped up to us and grabbed his shoulder, "Stop this.. Right now, pig. You are not allowed to fight other contestants unless given permission to do so." He then looked over at me, "I didn't think you'd get into these kinds of fights, Reiko."

I felt like a toddler getting caught for sneaking a cookie from the cookie jar. I simply shrugged, "Me either, it just sorta happened on its own I guess. Pardon my actions.." I bowed.

"I'm going to let it slide today, but don't do it again."

"Yes sir."

"Yes sir.." The bleeding boy answered with an growl due to the pain.

I glared at the boy and passed him to go to Kakashi's apartment. It was time to rest, "Reiko.." I looked over at the raven haired Sasuke who stood not too far away leaning against a tree. '_Itachi's brother..'_ I reminded myself.

"I'll catch up with ya'll later, I need to speak with Sasuke." I spoke briefly with Darui and Shee before running over to the lounging Sasuke, "Hey there."

"You know my brother?" He asked in a serious tone.

"I do. He is my lover." I said boldly in hope for a good reaction.

"Lover?!" He yelled making my jump at the surprise, "Do you know where he is?!" He stepped forward to grab my shirt in his fist.

Startled, I answered him truthfully, "No. I haven't seen him in quite some time; he abandoned me."

Sasuke released his hold on my shirt to step back into his cool posture, "Tell me all you kno-" He stopped as he saw tears flowing down my cheeks.

"Sasuke.." I covered my eyes with my wrist, "I love him. Your brother.. I loved him!" I began to choke on the lump in my throat from my swelling feelings, and completely embarrassed, "He would come visit me when no other would. He held me when no other would and accepted me for who I was; even accepted my burden. Your brother means everything in the world to me and I love him so, so much..!" I sobbed. Sasuke didn't say anything but watched me cry with widened eyes. Then the most unexpected thing happened; I felt one desperate hand reach to hold mine. I looked forward to see Sasuke looking at me with comfort.

"I'm sorry.. But you know what he did, right? He killed my entire village. He isn't who he used to be, I have to kill him and avenge my clan." I couldn't form the words to say next so I just cried, and Sasuke kept comforting me through my tears. '_Thank you.. Sasuke.'_

~I don't think Sasuke would have really done what I wrote he does, but there again it's just a fan fiction lol =_=


	5. Chapter 5

~Wow, I am really messing with the story a bunch :D Giving it my own twists! Whenever I write, I always have soft piano music playing in the background. Does anybody else do that too?

The next morning the contestants gathered in the front of a giant gate. Behind the giant gate was.. A forest. And not just any forest, a rather large forest that rinked of evil. Darui and Shee stood by me as we watched our new instructor make her first announcement, "This is the place the Second Exam will take place. The 44th Training Area.. Also known as The Forest Of Death"

"Lovely." Shee teased while crossing his arms, "This'll be good."

"You will be able to experience why this place is called the Forest of Death." Anko spoke with a grin. She knew what we were getting into and was excited for the results. '_Such a creepy person..'_

"Oh yeah? I'm not scared at all!" Naruto yelled and mocked the Instructor who just smirked as his actions.

"Really? You sure are energetic." Then in one fast motion, the grinning instructor send a kunai flying past Naruto's face and stuck in the grass behind him. There was a small cut that began to bleed down the side of Naruto's face. His eyes were widened by the awful surprise as she nearly teleported behind him and held his cheek in her hand, "Boys like you die in the forest.. After spilling out that red blood I love all over the place."

Another swift motion and one of the contestants with a large straw hat flashed behind her and returned her kunai, "Here's your knife.." '_Whoa!' _I watch in horror at the creepiness of the scene. The mysterious contestant's tongue handed her the kunai. '_What an awful image..' _

"Thank you." Anko smirked, excited from the intensity of the moment, "But don't stand behind me like that. That's unless you want to die young." She threatened.

The contestant slithered in their tongue of nastiness and answered back, "Well, I get itchy when I see blood. Also my precious hair was cut, so I got a little excited." He smiled and walked away, "I'm sorry."

"Looks like there are a lot of hot-headed people here today this is going to be interesting." The instructor left Naruto's side to walk up front to her original spot. She continued, "Before we begin the Second Exam, there are these consent forms. Those taking this exam must sign these. From here on people will die, therefore, we need people's consent before we continue." She laughed at our scared faces. I looked over at my teammates as they gulped down their worries, "Now, I will begin the explanation of the Second Exam. To be concise, you will all go through an extreme survival match. First, I'll explain the training areas graphical areas. The 44th training area is a circular region surrounded by 44 locked gate entrances. There is a river, a forest, and a tower in the middle. The tower is approximately 10 km away from the gates. Inside the limited space, you will have to a certain survival program. A competition where anything goes.. Over these scrolls."

"Scrolls?" asked Naruto.

"Yes. The Scrolls of Heaven and the Scrolls of Earth. You will fight over these scrolls." She held out a pair of black and white scrolls, "26 teams passed the first exam, so half of the teams will receive a Heaven Scroll and the other half of teams will receive the Earth scrolls. Each team gets one scroll, so you will have to fight the other teams for the other scroll to make the set of Heave and Earth."

"What is needed to pass?" Sasuke stepped forward to ask.

"You will need to bring both scrolls to the tower with your teammates. But it needs to be done within the time limit, which is 120 hours; or exactly five days."

"What about food?" A fat boy in the front yelled in distress.

"Scrounge it up yourself. There should be plenty of food. Also, people will get hurt in the process of retrieving a scroll, and those who cannot bear this program's strictness will emerge as well."

"Can we give up in the middle of the exam?" Another boy asked.

"As a rule, you are not allowed to give up during the exam. You will spend the five days in the forest." She paused, "While we're on this topic, here are the conditions that will fail you: first, a team that cannot bring both scrolls to the tower with all three teammates will fail; second, the team that looses a teammate or produces and unrecoverable teammate will fail. You are not allowed to look inside the scrolls until you reach the tower."

"And what happens if you look?" Naruto worried.

"That's a surprise. You'll see when you look at it." she grinned again, "If you become a chuunin, you will be handling top secret documents. Its to determine your reliability. We will exchange three consent forms for the scroll at that hut.." She pointed over at a small pavilion with jounins awaiting us, "And after picking your gate entrance, here's a last piece of advice: Don't die." A shudder of fear hit us all. Even me, with a monster inside, harbors fear after hearing this woman speak.

Next thing to do was sign those forms she mentioned. I thought over if I thought this was worth it and realized what a stupid question that is. I'm a ninja, therefore, every mission I have ever gone on and will go on always have the risk of dying. That's normal in the ninja-world.

I followed my teammates over to the wooden hut and quickly signed my papers, "Let's do this!" Shee yelled with an intense pose.

"If you raise your hand a little higher in your pose, then it will make a nice angle." Darui thought out loud.

"Shut up!" He punched him.

"Haha!" I pointed at their show. They both turned to look at me; I hadn't seen them tease each other like this before.

"You laughed.." Darui stared blankly.

"Oh.. So I did. Heheh!" they were just so funny, it was what I needed since I we were just about to head into a forest of death. I could use all the cheering up I could get.

I walked over to Naruto who was debating to sign his consent, "Naruto,"

"Nee-chan!"

"I wish you good luck and I hope we won't have to fight at any point. I almost forgot.. I am Jinchuriki too." His eyes widened, "I am the two-tails from Kumogakure, the demon cat."

"Did people hate you too?" He asked still in a bit of a shock.

"Yes. I grew up being hated like every Jinchuriki. But the Raikage took me in and made me his personal pupil. Also, his brother gave me training as well, that is how I was able to come here and be an examiner."

"I'm the demon fox, the nine-tails."

"It is said that the nine-tails is the strongest."

"Really?"

"Yep. Mine isn't all that strong, but it is still pretty awesome. And wanna know a secret?"

"What..?"

"I can control my bijuu in battle."

"Eh?"

"I went through special training to do so, I can control the chakra as I please and fight with it."

"No way.. I have to learn that!"

"Not till your older. There's no way you could possibly handle the training. Come find me when you're my age and I'll show you."

"Yeah!"

"Anyways, I have to meet with my team and find a gate entrance, you should probably do the same. Good luck!" And with that I left him to rejoin my teammates for the start of the Second Exam.

The exam instructor made her final announcement, "If you have received a scroll, follow the person in charge and move to your designated gates. We will begin in 30minutes!"

We all followed a jounin to a gated area and waited for it to begin. I began to feel butterflies turning in my stomach as we waited, "How shall we do this?" I asked my team, "This is my first time fighting with you guys. I don't know your abilities and jutsus yet. So let me explain a little of what I can do, I am a Jinchuriki like Bee, so I can control the bijuu like him. It aids me in my most difficult battles. I use a sword like yourselves for kenjutsu and act heavily in taijutsu. I steal chakra from the bijuu and gather it to my fists or sword for maximum strength and power. It is very reckless in battle, and can easily destroy the terrain around me, but can beat many enemies easily. So I'm offence."

"Ah, good to know." Darui started up, "I am offence mostly, with taijutsu and kenjutsu. I use my chakra nature of lightning to aid me in battle too, so watch out, it can get a little crazy. Also I am the executive for our team. I can think things through better than Shee."

"Psh.." He glared at his friend, "Oh yeah, and I'm heavy defense, but also offence often. I'm big in kenjutsu more than ninjutsu which I can do too. I have a genjutsu that clouds the enemies mind and provides a quick escape for emergencies."

"Great, that's awesome. Thanks for sharing, I just wanted an idea of what I'll be working with." I smiled, thanking them for telling me.

"You.." Darui whispered, "Have a beautiful smile."

"I was just thinking the same." Shee gazed at me.

"T-Thank you? Heheh.." I blushed at their complements.

"Alright, " We looked over at the jounin standing by the gate, "The Second Exam had now begun." He unlocked the gate and opened the door for us.

"10 km?" Shee asked.

"Yep, we better start running now." Darui answered.

"Ok, let's go!" We all charged in, ready for anything.

An hour went by and I began to feel anxious. I gripped my katana and began to feel slightly paranoid. **Something** was going to happen soon and I didn't know what, but something bad. I could feel fate poking me and telling me that there's danger. I began to sweat even more as my thoughts overflowed my mind. Worry, anxiety, fear, "Reiko?" My thoughts stopped, "You ok?"

"Um.."

"Yeah, your face is all pale." Shee looked over at me sadly.

"I-I'm fine. Just a little worried of what might happen."

"Well that's life. Welcome to the ninja world."

"Yeah.." I tried clearing my thoughts.

Day two and we still haven't met with any of the other teams. I began to wonder if we were on the right path. We were running towards the tower all this time but it hardly feels like we've gotten any closer. The tower looks the same size as when we first started. '_Genjutsu?' _"Darui! Shee! We're under-" As I looked over to tell them, their bodies began to fade, "What the-?" Then in a second, they were completely gone. Their bodies vanished.

Adrenaline pumped through my blood as I knew someone was messing with us to confused us. My teammates were gone, so either they are under genjutsu too, or its just me, or through the genjutsu we got separated in the process. If so, the enemy could attack us individually for our scroll. Darui had the scroll, and I know he's strong, so there's not much to worry about. But as for Shee.. _'He is strong too.. They should be ok. _

I didn't know how to dispel genjutsu, so kept running through the woods in hope of finding my lost teammates. And within the next five minutes, a kunai flew at my feet, sending my flying up to a near tree branch. I looked over in the direction the kunai came from and saw nothing. '_It has begun.. My first fight. My first battle, I'm going to win!' _I waited quietly on the tree branch for the next attack. It happened! ten other kunai flew at me from all directions. I jumped down below to the rooted, rocky, ground below, "Do you mind?" I yelled at my opponent, "It's not very classy to fight somebody who can't see you!" I yelled, knowing they could hear me.

"Sure, sure!" I heard as a boy gracefully jumped down from a tree branch, "Do you have the scroll?"

"And what if I do?" I teased.

"Then you'll surely die!" He charged forward at me with a kunai in his hand. '_Is he for serious? Idiot..'_ And surely within the moment he passed me and my demon cats chakra sliced his arm, except now, even more. I whipped out my katana and began to get serious. I wanted to respect that he was actually 'trying' to fight me, and I was just merely 'messing' with him. He changed again after observing his wounds, we clashed my katana with his kunai; and for some reason, I couldn't stop smiling. I was actually having fun, my first battle. It was exciting..

"Ah!" I forced him away with the strength of my katana, sending him flying into the tree behind him. I charged forward to latch my hand around his throat and pressed my finger into the main blood source to the head. Within a few seconds, he was unconscious on the floor. There was no need to kill someone as weak as him who has potential and respect in him. I searched his pockets for the scroll and found none. I left him there to begin my search for my teammates. I laughed at how he treated me like a girl and underestimated me.

A while of looking an no luck. My teammates disappeared. I hopped from tree trunk to tree trunk when I spotted something familiar. I quietly landed and peered through the leaves and the three walking sand ninjas. Across the way to the other side of a large Japanese maple tree, were three other ninjas. They were watching the sand ninjas like I was, but with another intent. They hadn't noticed me, but I saw through their attack. Without thinking, in a flash I was held up my katana to block a giant shuriken that glided through the air. The sand ninjas didn't react as I thought when I rushed to their side. They just simply looked over at me.

The shuriken rebounded off my katana and boomeranged back to its owner. I had blown my cover and now stood between six bloodthirsty ninjas. I don't even know what happened, by body moved on its own to protect the three sand ninjas. It's not like their friends, I just felt the urge to defend them, "Ah.. Dang." I spoke my mistake, "My bad.." I began stepping away to retreat my position. A little embarrassed that I dared to defend an enemy out of carelessness.

As I stepped away the enemy through another shuriken in my direction to which I prepared to connect blades with again. But as it were a few feet away flying at a speed f sixty miles an hour, it split into two shuriken. My eyes did notice this in time and jumped out of the way. The spinning blades hit the dirty grass floor with a boom, sticking themselves nearly permanently in the ground form the force. I looked up at my new enemies and they were covered in sand. '_Sand? What the..' _I looked over at the boy named Gaara who held out his hand strangely. He was controlling the sand with the actions of his hand. I was shocked and horrified as the sand clamped down on the three enemy ninjas bodies. In a instant, they were dead as the sand tightened around them; blood flying everywhere from the result. It was disgusting and lurid. My mind froze as my body went cold. '_This kid.. Just.. Merciless!' _"Wha.." I squeaked in fear. I had, at this point, fallen to the floor from the scene. My body trembling at how gruesome it was. I had never seen people die like this without a second thought. It blew. My. Mind.

"Gaara.." His sister whispered as he began glaring at me. He looked as though he was unsatisfied with his works and wanted to try again as he focused his eyes and sand on me. I saw the tan mist flying over to me and I quickly got up to escape. '_He has no shame! I'm gunna die!' _My adrenaline pumped like no other as I knew I was going to die. I wasn't ready for this! It was just a freaking exam!

"Ah..!" Was all I could say as the sand cornered me against a tree. I was trapped. There was sand above me and all around me, filled with Gaara's chakra. I looked over at the redheaded kid who held the sand. The sand quickly wrapped around me and hardened, covering only my abdomen. I watched as he squeezed his hand slowly, the sand around me did the same. I felt piercing pains all around me, "AH!" I felt a rib crack and then break. I screamed as the sand tightened more and more, crushing my body in its power. Another rib broke, and then another, and then another. I could feel a wetness in the sand from internal and external bleeding. It was slow and painful. I had never felt anything like it. I have never screamed like I did; an absolute pain that worsens by the second. I could feel enormous pressure on my organs, damaging them by the second. My vision blurred as I was close to becoming unconscious when a flash of movement caught my attention. I looked up to see my team members attack the sand. Strikes of lightning fell from the sky all around causing the sand to retreat. It loosened and released its grasp on me. I fell to the floor, my body crushed. Darui rushed to my side to pick me up, and at this point I lost consciousness.

"Reiko." '_A voice?' _"Reiko.." '_Ah…' "Reiko!" My eyes blinked open to a bright light. My teammates had taken me to the tower. _

"_Ah.. We're here?" Was what I said._

"_Pfft.. Yeah, we're here." They comforted me and held my hand. I felt a warm sensation on my abdomen as Shee held his hand over me. It produced a green light that shown on my skin, slowly repairing it. I felt tingles all over from it's warmth and touch. _

"_How long was I out?" _

"_Two days. The Third Exam is in ten hours."_

"_Hey there Reiko," A familiar voice called out to me from above. I changed my view to see Kakashi standing near by, "You look pretty bad. You might want to forfeit for this exam."_

"_No!" A sting of pain flooded my body from my yell. I cringed at the ache as it began to throb. It was a very sharp twinge in my torso, making a tear slide down my face, "I'll.. Be fine." I exhaled in between throbs._

"_Clearly, you can't fight again!" Darui worried for me, "For whatever we're doing next, I know you'll need to be able to fight on your own."_

"_We came all this way.." I interrupted him, "We have come this far and I won't let this stop us. If you could please keep doing what your doing for a while longer, I can pull through this easily and keep going."_

"_What?"_

"_Let's.. Pretend.. This is a real.. Mission." I trembled through my words, "Our mission is to win.. No matter.. What. Okay?"_

_Darui thought before answering, "… Okay."_

"_Did you get the other scroll?"_

"_Yes, that is how Kakashi got here. We laid out the scrolls and he appeared with a puff of smoke to instruct us on where to go next."_

"_I'm sorry I haven't done anything but worry you. If only we hadn't been.. Separated by genjutsu.."_

"_Don't worry about it.." Shee tried to comfort me._

"_You should rest. We'll wake you in ten hours when it's time for the next exam." Kakashi knelt down to me, "You're going be ok."_

"_Ok.." I closed my eyes and drifted away; pushing through the pain to get some sleep._

_~Intense, yeah? Please comment! n_n_


	6. Chapter 6

~Yay! Now we can get some ACTION! Since I added an OC, I kinda had to change the whoel Preliminary Matches thing and add somebody I can fight. Also, I didn't want to type up all the different matches like in the anime so I just wrote up Sasuke's then had mine right afterwards lol. Done. Haha

"It's time." Darui gently shook my arm. _'That's right.. I must go on.'_

"Ah, Yes." I woke up and looked around the room again.

"I've been healing you non-stop for eight hours." Shee stopped the healing jutsu and lifted his hand from my abdomen. It was still dangerously sore. He had developed rings under his eyes from his tremendous healing efforts.

"Thank you so much. I feel a lot better and I can definitely battle again, I think." I tried sitting up and ignored the pain so I could stand up, Darui and Shee were by my side helping me stand.

"Here eat this." Shee held out a small red ball, "It will give you strength."

"Thank you." I popped it in and followed them into the next room. Kakashi had already left and was waiting for us on the inside.

The center of the room was giant, it completely engulfed us. All the surviving teams had gathered up front with the instructors. Shee and Darui helped me walk over to them and hear the next announcement.

"First off, congratulations on passing the Second Exam." Anko spoke loudly so we could hear, "We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam from Hokage-sama. Everyone listen well."

In the front of the instructors stood the Hokage who was dressed in a white and red robe, with a matching hat. It was an older man who looked as though he'd gone through many battles; a very strong individual, despite his appearance. "The Third Exam will begin. But before the explanation, there's one thing I want to make clear to all of you. It's about the true purpose of this exam. Why we do an exam with allied nations. 'To maintain good relations with the allied nations' and 'Heighten the level of the ninja'. Don't let those reasons deceive you. This 'exam', so to speak, is.." He paused, "The epitome of war between the allied nations."

"What do you mean?" I heard one of the students ask.

"If we go back through history, the allied nations right now were neighboring countries that have fought each other over and over again. To avoid wasting military power, those countries decided to choose a place to fight.. That is the begging of the Chuunin Selection Exam."

"Why do we have to do that?!" Asked Naruto, "We're not doing this to select chuunins?"

"Yes, this exam does examine those who are worthy of the chuunin title. But on the other hand, it is a place where ninja fight and carry their countries dignity. In this Third Exam, feudal lords and famous people from various countries who may be potential clients are invited here as guests. And feudal lords from countries with hidden villages and ninja leaders will see your battles. There's a significant difference in power, the strong country will be flooded with jobs. If a country is seen as week, their jobs will decrease. And at the same time, countries are able to show how their village has grown and possess excellent military power to the adjacent countries. In other words, they can put foreign pressure on them."

"So why do we have to fight with the risk of losing our lives?!" A boy with a dog yelled abruptly.

"A countries power is the villages power. A villages power is a ninjas power. And a ninjas true power is only born in a life-or-death battle. This exam is a place to show off the ninja power of one's country. Since this is an exam where you fight with your life on the line, it has a meaning.. And your predecessors have fought and dreamed of being in the Chuunin Exam because of it."

"But why do you say it is to promote good relations?" A girl asked very upset.

"I told you at the beginning to not get confused with that. The custom of showing one's life and fighting to maintain balance.. That is the good relation in the world of ninja. This is a life-or-death battle for your dream and villages dignity."

"Just tell us the details of this lie-or-death battle.." We all turned to see the sand boy, Gaara, grow impatient. As he spoke I swear my wound began to hurt again. I grunted from the pain and listened closely for the rules.

"Then I will now begin the explanation of the Third Exam, but.."

"Excuse me Hokage-sama." An instructor I didn't recognize jumped forward and knelt down to the Hokage, "I, Gekkou Hayate, the judge, will explain."

"Please do." The Hokage allowed.

"Everyone, it is nice to meet you." He spoke as he stood from his kneeling position, "Wveryone, before the Third Exam," He paused to cough; "There is something I want you to do." Confused, we all listened in to the sickly looking jounin who coughed frequently, "Fight in some preliminary matches to see who gets to advance in the Third Exam's main battle."

"Preliminary matches?! What do you mean?!" A boy yelled in the front row.

"Sensei.. I don't understand what you mean by preliminary matches.." Sakura asked unsure, "Why can't we just start the Third Exam with the remaining examinees?"

The instructor sighed, "In this case, it must have been because the First and Second Exams were too easy, I don't know.. But there are too many examinees left. According to chuunin regulations, we must decrease the number of participants for the Third Exam."

"Oh no.." She answered back with a gasp.

"As previously mentioned by Hokage-sama, there are many guests for the Third Exam, so.. We cannot have just many matches. We are limited on time, as well. So for those are aren't feeling as well.." He stopped to cough, then recovered to finish his thought, "Excuse me. If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation.. Please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately."

I felt Darui tug on my shirt and whisper, "You know you're not feeling well.. Maybe you should-"

"No. I want to do this. Remember, I have the-"

"Don't! Don't use that." He ordered. Even he understood my risks in my special technique.

"I can control it. That's why I trained with Bee in the mountains for so long. I'm a lot stronger than I look, and I haven't had the chance to show it yet." I explained and smiled to assure him of my confidence.

We all looked back at the sickly instructor as he began to speak, "I forgot to mention, but you will have one-on-one matches from here on out. So please withdraw if you wish."

"Um… I'll quit." All heads turn to see the boy with glasses that had fallen back at the beginning of the First Exam.

"Um… your Konoha's Yakushi Kabuto-kun? You may leave, then."

"Yes."

"Kabuto! Why are you quitting?!" Naruto yelled shaking his fist in frustration.

"Sorry Naruto.. But my body is completely worn out already. Even before the exam, after I had that quarrel with the sound guys, I couldn't hear anything in my left ear. I can't fight right away, especially, if it's a life-or-death battle.." Naruto then looked away with an unhappy expression,I watched as the boy left the room in silence.

"May I assume.." The instructor coughed again, "There are no more people who wish to retire? Then, let's begin the preliminary matches. It will be a one-on-one match. In other words, it will be like a real battle match. Now that we have exactly twenty people, we will have ten matches.. Winners will be able to advance to the Third Exam. There are no rules. You will fight until the other person dies, is knocked out.. Or admits defeat. Um.. If you do not want to die, please give up immediately. However if I judge that the match is over.." He coughs again, "I may stop you to prevent any unnecessary deaths. The thing that will hold your destiny is.." He turned to Anko who whispered into her microphone. Which opened a video screen high up on the arena wall, "Will be this. This electric bulletin board, will randomly display the names of two fighters for each match. And without further ado, I will now display the named for the first match."

The names scanned for a moment to display: **Akadou Yoroi vs. Uchiha Sasuke. **

"Those who named are displayed, step up. The first match's fighters are Akadou Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke. Are there any objections?"

"No." They both answered after coming front.

"Um.. We will now begin the first match." He coughed again, "Anyone other than the fighters, please move up there." He pointed to the second story balconies.

We all did as he said and watched the match begin. Shee continued healing my stomach and ribs so I could fight again, "Now.. Begin!"

"Let's go!" The man named Yoroi yelled with excitement.

"Yeah!" Sasuke did the same. In a moment's notice, they whipped out their skurikens and kunais after a few hand seals to being with. Sasuke successfully dodged them but crumbled to the ground as if fighting something. '_Is he alright? He wasn't hit! Why did he fall?_'

The man attacked again but ended on the floor with Sasuke who placed him in a head lock. The man smirked for he had another trick up his sleeve. His hand began to glow from blue chakra as he gripped Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke released his grip as though all his energy had been sucked out. The man punched his abdomen and stood back up. The man lunged forward to grab Sasuke's head, again with a glowing blue hand radiating chakra. '_Why isn't Sasuke fighting back? He looks so weak..'_

Sasuke kicked the man off but was attacked again by the man's glowing fist-punches at Sasuke. They sort of danced around until the man touched Sasuke, making him weak again. It was continuous, Sasuke was getting weaker and weaker every time he was touched by the opponent, "Dang.." I whispered as I observed it all. A sharp pain in my side from the healing caused me to look away for a moment, but I quickly looked back at the fighting match to see that Sasuke had thrown the other man into the air. He did an odd spinning motion before ending his movement with a fierce kick to the other's abdomen. It was a powerful finishing movement. The match was now over. I was able to relax knowing that Itachi's younger brother was now safe. I was worried he would continue to get hurt, but I guess that kind of worrying should stop. We are shinobi after all.

The coughing instructor spoke again, "Next we have.. Omatoke Chie and Hatake Reiko. Please step up to the platform." My name was called. I had to perform the second match. My heart immediately went flying into an adrenaline rush. Darui helped me rise to my feet so I could go fight. The other girl jumped form the second story to the platform beneath, but I went ahead and took the stairs. I didn't want to waste energy, because it was clear to say.. I would need it all.

As I approached the pumped up and energetic opponent and the instructor, I thought about the ways that I fight and how reckless it is. I freaking make craters in the ground as I fight. The two tails inside of me makes up for so much of my chakra that it all comes out in my fists, feet, and sword. I bowed at the instructor before he said begin, "Um pardon my way of fighting, but I'm a bit reckless.."

"That's ok, just fight however you fight. But please avoid hurting the people in your surroundings." He coughed again.

"Kay." I exhaled as I examined the girl in front of me. This was going to be very hard. I had such an awful injury for a burden in my fight. The girl in front of me was a bit taller than I was. She had short blonde hair and held a devilish smirk across her face. She clearly showed she thinks she's strong and even more so since she can clearly see I am injured to begin with. I was still clutching my throbbing side, and my clothes were soaked in blood, although my damaged skin on the outside didn't show damage. Shee's healing jutsu did that much for me and more. _'I can pull through this.._' I encouraged myself.

The instructor spoke up, "Alright, begin." Without delay the girl charged at me, whipping out her kunai and prepared to slice me. As soon as I moved to the side, I reminded in an instant, just how injured I was. It was extremely hard to move fast.

I looked over at her charging at me again, this time forming seals. '_Oh crap.'_ I whipped out my Katana sword and readied for the worst. I studied my surroundings as fast as my mind would let me. The floor began to rise from beneath me, sending me flying into the air. It was like the earth became a wave for a moment. Within seconds, the girl had jumped into the air where I was and punched me to the floor. Several punches to my gut had me jumping backwards in fright. A sudden stagger sent me crumbling to the floor, coughing up blood. The blood wasn't from damage she had done, but the damage from the sand boy. The girl before me stopped and let me recover a little so it didn't look like she was beating up on some weak person. I took that kindness to my advantage and recovered to my feet.

I glanced over at the instructor who was tempting to call it a draw, but I quickly decided charge after her. Now, it was my turn for offense. The girl quickly backed away from my sudden movements, but she was too slow. I added chakra to my feet to give me speed I couldn't otherwise give myself, compliments of the abdominal injury.. and flew next to her. I swiped my katana in her direction just barely missing one of her vital organs. She managed to get away with a minor slash at her side. I wasn't trying to kill her, but by golly disable her. Another swipe with my sword had her falling to her knees in pain from cutting an Achilles tendon in her right leg.

She performed more ninjutsu to control the rocks underneath me again, creating an earthquake of sorts. It was directly under me, causing me to fall into it. I didn't have the strength to jump away at its quickness. My heart pumped violently as I fell into the black pit. I looked up in the split second I was falling to see the rocks surface sealing me in. '_I might die!'_ My long held in two-tails demon chakra flew out from my body, sending me flying into the air and out of the earthy pit below, now the game is in my control. I had to end the battle.. Now. My internal bleeding was increasing and was now entering in the dangerous and critical stage. Shee knows it too, because I could hear him screaming at my from the top observing balcony, "Reiko, end it now!"

I focused my now color changed eyes onto the girl collapsed on the ground. It's a mere side effect of taking on a minor stage of the demon two-tails bijuu.. She only thought she had won, judging how the beginning of the match went, but in fact, there's a lot more to me than meets the eye. Literally.. My eyes changed to the shade of the demon cat's, one green, and one yellow. Blue chakra flew out of my body like a flickering flame and took on the pre-stage of the bakeneko demon. The girl screamed as I closed in on her and ended the match with a final blow. A simple punch in the gut sent her flying into the cement ground, making a dent of her own. I fell to my knees with exhaustion. Blood pouring from my mouth without control. "Ah.." I coughed a good bit, and tried listening to the instructor, but never made it to the end to hear the instructor say, "The match is now over. Winner is Omatoke Chie."

I laid on the floor unconscious as the opponent was still conscious and rose to her feet to finish the match. I was soon looked after by my brother and never got to see the rest of the matches.

I magically appeared in a hospital bed, completely bandaged around my torso. It was the next day already. I looked over at the guest chair to see the man I had met the other day named Tenzou. He watched me awake and then smiled, "Kakashi had to leave, so he asked me to come and stay in case you woke up."

"Thank you." I spoke as I lifted the bed sheets to stit up.

"Careful! Are you sure you should be sitting upright yet? I heard you had severe internal damage." He held out his hands in worry.

"I'm fine. Did I win?" I flinched from the pain in my side.

Tenzou looked at the floor and answered, "No."

I sadly continued my questions, "How was Naruto? Did he make it?"

"Yes he did."

"And.. The Gaara kid from the sand country? Did he make it?"

"I think so. He's still here in the hospital."

"Oh.. Excuse me then." I stood and began walking away exit the room.

"Wait, where are you going?" He asked, worried about my condition and appearance.

I was wearing just a tank top and shorts, with many bandaged areas, "I need to speak with him. Thank you for worrying." I smiled.

"Alright, when you're done, come back and rest." He ordered with his hands on his hips. Kakashi directed me to watch over you, so I'm coming too. I really don't think you should be up and moving so early."

"I'll be fine." I reached over the vase of flowers brought to me by Kakashi and grabbed a single daisy. I left the room with Tenzou and He followed beside me as I shuffled down the hallway. I continued on down the hall to an information nurse's booth, "Excuse me, which room contains the boy named Gaara?" I asked the nurse.

"Room 409 at the end of the hall."

"Thank you." I left her and went in search of it. It was just where she said it'd be, sitting at the end of the hallway on the left. My body began to tremble at the thought of seeing him, but I needed to try this. He was a Jinchuriki just like I was, and I was pretty sure he didn't know love like I have learned about. I just.. Wanted to try this.

I nodded to Tenzou to wait for me outside and knocked before sliding open the door to see a blue drape that now separated me from him, "Hello?" I heard no answer. This was probably the scariest thing I've ever done. My heart was pounding so fast I couldn't even think clearly, but somehow found myself walking over around the hanging separator sheet to see him. He was fully awake and staring at me, arms crossed. He hadn't said a word yet, so it made it all the more awkward and intimidating. I tried to manage a smile, but embarrassment and terror had it fading away pretty quickly.

I slowly came to his side and held the flower up, "This is for you." I placed it on his bed sheets. He still said nothing so I spoke again, "You know, it's ok. I'm ok, so you don't have to worry or anything." I knew I wasn't making any sense, "My injury will heal up, so I'll be ok. Don't worry, I'll forgive you." I bowed and then tried to study his reaction. Absolutely nothing, he was definitely awake, but just didn't move at all, "I just wanted to tell you that.. and that I am a jinchuriki too. Please know, that there is good in this world. There are reasons to live and reasons to love. No matter what you've gone through, I know it all too well. And yet, I am still striving forward to seek out the good things of this world and seize it." _'Itachi..'_

"Is that it?" I finally heard him speak. His voice was too deep and too mature for a thirteen year old. It was terrifying.

"Yeah that's it." I whispered and walked away. '_God! What was I thinking?! Am I crazy?'_ My mind blew up with stupid questions as I left. Who knows what he could be thinking about. Whatever it is should be better left unsaid.

I returned down the hall with Tenzou to my bedroom and lied down again. It was time to rest, I had my fair share of an adrenalin rush for the day. Now, it was time to fully heal. I wanted to be able to help my friends train for the Final Exam.

~Please comment! 3 =_=


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